William s



(N0 Model.)

` W. S, MGKENN.

FIRE BRICK. Y No. 274,357. Patented Mar. zo', 188e,

PUERS. Pmwmhcgnpher, wnhngiun. D. C.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM S. MGKENNA, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO Y HARBSON S: WALKER, OF SAME PLAGE.

FIRE-BRICK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 274,357, dated March 20, 1883.

Application tiled Janna-ry E29, 188B. (No model.)

To all whom. 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. M cKENNA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, county of' Allegheny, State of Pennsyl- Vania, have invented or discovered a new and useful Improvement in Firerick; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

concise, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in whichlike letters indicating like'parts- Figure l is a perspective view ot' my improved re-brick, and Fig. 2 illustrates on a smaller scale a number of such bricks built up as in forming checker-work for a regeneratorfurnace.

My invention relates to certain improvements in fire-brick designed for use in forming the checker-work of regenerator-fnrnaces; and, in general terms, .it consists of a nre-brick, cubical in general form, having notches formed in its sides and in one edge, the bottoms of which incline or converge toward the central line of such edge, thereby formin g an alternate succession of hat and of wedge-shaped faces, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In building the checker-work of regeneratorfurnaces it is desirable to avoid upward ezt-k posure of iiat surfaces, for such surfaces form lodging-places for cinder, soot, and ashes, thereby choking the open spaces and impairing the efficiency of the furnace. This object is ordinarily accomplished by making the bricks wedge-shaped and laying them with the sharp edge or ridge upward. Provision has also been made for a tlat face on which to rest the crosscourses by cutting down the end'sof the wedgeshaped rid ges,formingdepressed shoulders helov:r the apex of the ridge. Bricks made in this form are diicult to stack or pack for shipping, and the wedge-shaped ridges are liable to be broken or chipped ott, being unprotected 'and exposed to such injuries; also, when the ends of the ridges are cut down to form dat bearingfaces for the cross-courses the open spaces of thechecker-Work are materially reduced, which is a serious objection. Vith bricks having the wedge -shaped ridge continued through the Whole length, the upper courses rest upon the ridges or sharp edges of those below, giving these defects or objectionable features in the vconstruction of the bricks, and this I do by means ot' bricks A, of cubical form in general outline, which may be ot' any desired length and size of section, but by preference having a length four times its thickness or width of edge, so that the surface of the edge may be divided into four squares. One such square, a, is made at the center, a half-square, c', at each end, and between these hat faces notches c c are made in pairs or opposite each other in the sides and edge. These notches have inclined or sloping bottoms converging toward the central line of the dat faces a ct, forming Wedgeshaped ridges c', the sloping sides of which eX- tend Well dovvnY the side faces of the brick by making the dat faces a a' the full height of the brick, and on either side of the ridges c' the latter are protected from danger of chipping or breaking; also,these flatfaces facilitate pck ing,handling,and shipping, affording substantially the same advantages in these respects as full cubical bricks.

In laying theseV bricks for checkecwork the successive courses are laid across the flat faces a c', as illustrated in Fig. 2, leaving only the sloping faces c and comparatively sharp ridges c exposed to falling soot, ashes, 85e. As great stability and area of support is secured in this way as though the bricks Were of cubical form throughout, and also the full advantages are secured of sloping the walls which have np- Ward exposure without any of the disadvan tages which have attended handling, shipping, and laying this class of bricks as heretofore made. Y

My improved bricks may be made by pressing the clay in molds, and subsequently treating them in manufacture as commonly prac ticed in the art.

While I prefer the proportions of size and arran gement of dat and inclined faces, as shown and described, still thesefeatnres may be va- IOO ried withoutdepartingfrom my invention. For example, the length of bricks maybe increased or diminished, and sloping notches c be made in the middle insteadof the tlatface a; also, the side edges, c?, of the notches may be sloped, thereby increasing the width of the notch upward to afford more draft to draw the brick readily from the mold; or the fiat faces a a may be madeofotherforms than those shownfor example, by increasing the width of the notches on one or both sides. This, however, would reduce the bearing-surface of the crosscourses, and is therefore objectionable. By making half-square faces a at the ends of the full height of the ridges o laying the bricks to break joints is facilitated, and also the rid ges are protected much better than in bricks having the outer corner of such ridges exposed, as heretofore. These features of improvement are of material importance and advantage, and

adapt such bricks much better to the purposes for which they are designed.

I claim herein as my inventionl. A re-brick ofcubical form, having on one edge a succession of dat and of inclined or wedge-shaped surfaces, the latter being below the plane of the former, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A tire-brick, A, of cubical form, having sloping notches c in its sides and'edge at intermediate points in its length, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. y

3. A fire-brick, A,'ot cubical form, having on one edge flat end portions, a', and intermediate Wedge-shaped portions, c c', the iiat portions vbeing the full height oi' the wedges c', substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. A nre-brick, A, of cubical form, having in the plane of one edge a central iiat portion, a, and fiat end portions, a', with intermediate wedge-shaped portions, ccf', substantially as set forth.

5. A lire-brick, A, of cubical form, having in the plane of one'edge a central square surface, a, and half-square end surfaces, a', with intermediate Wedge-shaped or sloping surfaces, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM S. MGKENNA Witnesses C. L. PARKER, R. H. WHITTLEsEY. 

